Nicole Kidman on Sex Scenes, Scientology and Being an Indie-Girl

Nicole Kidman is beautiful on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter‘s Sundance issue. The 45-year-old star of “The Paperboy” shared a few things with the mag:

On being an indie-movie girl: “My heart is independent,” she says. “I come from Australia, I was trained in indie movies. It’s an unconscious decision — it’s who I am. As an actor, you live and die by your choices. I don’t associate with mainstream films anymore. I don’t do so well in them, either. I guess I have a foot in both worlds. I’ve been offered some studio films this year and turned them down. They just didn’t align with who I am.”

On urinating in “The Paperboy”: “I just don’t find urination shocking. I think I peed in the beginning of ‘Eyes Wide Shut,’ too. But then, I don’t find a lot of things shocking! Violence is a lot more shocking than sex – sex is primal. Lee [Daniels, the director of “The Paperboy“] had an obsession about shooting me from behind — he was obsessed with my ass! To me, that was so funny. He’s hilarious, I love him. I’m drawn to Lee for his wild nature. I felt shy singing in ‘Moulin Rouge’! But peeing — no, not shy.”

On her relationship with directors: “I do develop very powerful relationships with most of my directors. Gus Van Sant changed my career with ‘To Die For.’ I’ll definitely work with Lars von Trier again. And [‘The Hours’ director] Stephen Daldry is like a soulmate. He was so kind to me when I was pregnant, even when I couldn’t do ‘The Reader.’”

On Scientology: “I’ve chosen not to speak publicly about Scientology. I have two children [adopted with Cruise] who are Scientologists — Connor [the ‘Red Dawn’ actor is now 17] and Isabella [20] — and I utterly respect their beliefs.”

Jane Boursaw is the founder and editor-in-chief of Reel Life With Jane. Her credits include hundreds of print and online publications, including The New York Times, People Magazine, Variety, Moviefone, TV Squad and more. Follow her on Twitter at @reellifejane.